Listen to narration by a local historian

Bob Marcotte

Former D&C Editor

A previous Retrofitting Rochester noted that horses were used until 1927 to pull fire apparatus, like the one in this 1907 photo from the city’s Municipal Archives.

“Neighborhood children were fascinated with the fire horses, and would often stop by the fire house to see them,” Dan McBride has written in his history of the Rochester Fire Department, In the Finest Tradition.

The fire horses are gone, but a lot of those old fire houses are still around.

And it is fascinating to see the variety of ways they are being used.

One of the most colorful reincarnations is Craft Company No. 6, at 785 University Ave., seen in this pairing of photos, which for nearly 30 years has been selling American and Canadian handmade arts and crafts in the former firehouse of Engine No. 6.

Among other examples are:

1) the Hose 22 Firehouse Grill in a 1916 city firehouse that housed Engine Co. 22 at 56 Stutson Street in Charlotte,

2) the Genesee Center for the Arts and Education in the firehouse that housed Engine Co. 15 and Truck Co. 4 at 713-715 Monroe Ave.,

3) the Economy Furniture and Sleep Center in the former Hose Co. 24 firehouse at 360 W. Ridge Road next to Kodak Park, and

4) offices for Frontier Field in the former Hose Co. 3 firehouse at 333 N. Plymouth Ave., which still stands out beyond the left field corner.